


Through the Haze and Breeze

by MTHammer



Category: Splatoon
Genre: At least that's the aim, F/M, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25362934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTHammer/pseuds/MTHammer
Summary: Five years following the liberation of the Octarian Army en masse, Cora is one of many young Octolings that have adapted to Inkling society seamlessly. Or so she thought; even if she's caught on to the language and in's and out's of the casual culture, there's still so much in life that she must understand. For example: the new Octoling boy that joins her League Team.
Relationships: Inkling(s) & Octoling(s) (Splatoon), Inkling(s)/Octoling(s) (Splatoon), Octoling(s) (Splatoon)/Other(s)
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my very first fanfic! I've had these OCs knockin around my head for a good year or so and wanted to put this story down in a way that's easier to share to ppl. I wanna try my hand at this kind of fiction, and I hope I can write more someday =w=  
> Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT (2/21/21) - Made some changes regarding exposition on Cora's ex for better connection

_Stupid summer heat._

Cora woke up feeling the midday heat pouring into her apartment window, somewhat regretting not buying an electric fan when she was out and about grocery shopping. Not feeling fully awake yet, she laid on her back and conteded with staring at the ceiling for a couple of minutes.

She thanked the Cods that she had no practice today, seeing as how she's somehow slept the entire morning away for the first time in a few months. Guess that's what happens when you're up all night playing video games.

Cora couldn't help herself. Just a little more, she told herself; just gotta level up her Gible one more level and she'd call it a night. That's what she told herself 2 hours ago and oops, it was already 2 am. Welp. At least her team was prepared for the next Gym. Not that it mattered for her now-fucked-up sleep schedule. Who knew human era video games could be this addicting?

And it didn't help that she had a rather vivd dream last night. Those always made her drowsy as fuck.

She could barely recall snipets of it. She was back at the barracks, walking through the hallways. She passed by her turf buddies and said 'hi' to them, as if Inklings have always been in the infantry. They talked about the recent orders they've all gotten, of how they are to move to the frontlines in an all out assault against the inkling menace that has been making off with the zapfishes the army had recovered.

Then the dream shifted and she was standing in her apartment kitchen. It's dark, and she could only make out whatever the moon's light decided to shine on. She looked to her couch and saw a familiar inkling boy with those same droopy eyes and hipster haircut, sitting on one end of it. This too felt like reality, as if they didn't really end things the way they did. As if they were still living in each others company and all was right in the world.

Then everything went black around her like a switched off light.

'Fuck, I gotta stop going to bed late,' Cora cursed to herself before getting up and stretching, the dregs of sleepiness slowly ebbing away.

Lately, she's been having recurring dreams where her ex made random appearances, and that things were still the same as back then. As distressing as it was to her, Cora decided that there wasn't much to do about it at the moment but let time do it's work. There were few people that knew about the details of their breakup, but she didn't want to tell them about it as if she were looking for some answer to her problem.

Besides, she had all the time in the world to unpack it at _her_ own pace. Not the pace of some military regime that marched their denizens ragged.

After a good face wash to freshen up her mind, Cora popped two bagel halves into the toaster oven and went through all 8 of her little succulents dotted around her apartment for a routine inspection. A little spritz here, a little check for bugs there, and a little note for whether or not she needed to do any repotting for any of them. 

Once all 8 babies were inspected and accounted for, Cora went back the kitchen to get the cream cheeese and canned sardines out before the toaster finished heating up her bagel.

Everything was set up at her quiant little dining table as Cora began to eat, the calm early afternoon silence accompanying her. During this time, Cora's mind couldn't help but revisit what the heck happened in her dream again. She'd say it's been about 5 months since she and _him_ both ended it. She's still feeling a little upset about how it all played out, remembering how desperately he had wanted to continue with what they had—and she too even wanting the same. But she knew somewhere deep down that it might still not work out.

For the briefest of moments, Cora was caught remembering the stress of it all, of hearing him beg for 30 minutes straight to not end it, insisting that they could overcome anything if they kept at it together. Such thoughts were banished just as quickly, and she shakes her head out of her daydream. It really wouldn't do to fixate on the things that happened, life doesn't move backwards after all. And even if they did go back to each other, their little honeymoon phase in their relationship had long passed.

Cora sighed.

"At least I have new people in my life to get me through." She said out loud to no one in particular.

She picked up her phone to look at any new notifications as she bit more into her bagel. Suddenly, a pop up text appeared.

[1:29 PM] Waddup homeslice ;P

Cora gave a little smirk. Speaking of new people in her life...

[ _1:30 PM] sup lukey, watcha need?_

[1:30 PM] Got some Crusty Sean tickets from my last salmon run shift. wanna grab a bite to eat?

_[1:32 PM] Bruh I just finished eating_ 🤧

[1:33 PM] Bro what?????? lame

_[1:35 PM] Bitch u know we got no practice today, no need to wake up early_

[1:36 PM] you still wanna go out or something? we could turf or w/e

_[1:36 PM] Hecc yeah dude_

_[1:37 PM] Then we can eat after_

After seeing Luke thumbs up following her reply, Cora put down her phone and finished the last bites of her breakfast, well, more like lunch at this point in the day. She got up from the table, washed whatever dishes needed to be washed, and headed over to her room to get dressed.

Now...what to wear...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting off with some short exposition, we shall see what will happen from here on 👀


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Into the next chapter LEZ GOO!
> 
> 2/21/21 - Made another edit, this one tinier than the last, abt references to The Ex

Out of the apartment and into the blistering afternoon heat, Cora makes her way to the Inkopolis Metro Line en route to the Square. She's sporting a Navy King Tank (for all her summer heat needs) and a Takoroka Visor, padding along in her Blue Laceless Dakroniks.

After making it to the station in record time, Cora decided to whip out her earbuds and listen to some tunes while waiting. Off the Hook just recently dropped a fresh new album, and Cod forbid she'd not download it. There's just something about their new song—Into the Light—that just really sends her. The way it's slow tempo still finds a way to keep a constant beat that has you swaying along with the heartfelt lyrics makes for a tasteful combination. Cora particularly likes the parts where Pearl's actually singing, seeing how the pygmy squid has seldom done so in most of OTH's songs thus far.

_There's a whole new world_

_Waiting for you_

_You don't have to look anymore~_

Ahhh...what a lovely chorus. Cora could listen to it forever. So entranced was she by the song that she barely noticed the train arrive, quickly stuffing her phone into her back pocket and hopping aboard.

.

.

.

Upon arrival at the Square, it didn't take long for Cora to spot her friend's signature Full Moon Glasses and vibrant violet bowl-cut.

Said friend was sitting at one of the tables, hunched over his phone, wearing his usual Jade Zekko Coat—for some unholy reason given the heat. As Cora approached, Luke looked up from surfing his dash and greeted her with a grin.

"Hey!"

"Dude, aren't you, like, dying in that coat?" Cora regarded him with a stare of mock-surprise. "You look like you're about get splatted by the damn heat with you practically melting." 

Luke sputtered, "I was up running errands at dumb o'clock in the morning! I had to go pick up my bonuses at the Grizzco window before the other employees came so I wouldn't have to wait in that damn line."

To prove his point, he jerked his thumb behind him to the aforementioned window, where inklings and octos alike were forming a line that would make the Great Zapfish crackle with envy with how coddam big it was. The last shift involved a full Grizzco weapon load-out, which was infamous for yielding high pay grades with how easy it was to exceed quotas with them, high ink consumption be damned. Naturally, the load-out was also infamous for dragging every single employee out of the depths of inactivity for a chance to make some easy cash.

Cora looked to the line of cephalo-kids and regarded it with a low whistle. She's glad she was able to pick up hers right after her late night shift. She decides to forego asking Luke if he had a tank under his coat, since knowing him, he probably didn't anticipate being out here for this long, and was too lazy to head back and change.

"How rare of you to actually be doing something diligent at this time of the day." Cora added cheekily, a smirk gracing her features.

"Ha, fuck you too." Luke eloquently quipped as he flopped over the table, not caring that the metal may or may not be hot enough to fry a Crust Bucket Special.

Luke is an inkling boy, Splat Brella extraordinaire and newfound friend and teammate. He was around when Cora joined their captain's newly formed splat team alongside him half a year ago. They both got along very well, both inside and outside of practice. They met during some solo turf war matches, and struck a bond through their newfound synergy during matches when they were on the same team. Since then, they've become fast friends on the turf field, going so far as doing Salmon Run shifts together and even Duo League. Evidently, he was also there for Cora when she was fresh off her breakup, and had decided to make it a point to hang with her more often, even outside of turf and sketchy shifts, much to Cora's chagrin. Nonetheless, she was thankful for company all the same. 

With a chuckle, Cora proceeded to take a seat across from Luke despite knowing that they'll probably leave their spot soon.

"So, any idea what we should hit up first?"

"Funny you should say that." Luke pulled his phone out. "Cass just texted the group chat to meet up at this new boba place that opened up. Dunno why though, she said 'it's a secret' when I asked. Winky face and all," Luke threw up a peace sign and a wink in an attempt to mimic their mischievous team captain.

She raised a brow in curiosity. "Weird, how I come I didn't get it?" Luke just kinda shrugged, not really knowing why either.

A quick check to her phone shows a few unread messages, one of them being the aforementioned text that Luke mentioned. Odd, guess she got it right when she got off the train.

"Aight, let's go then."

.

.

.

The trip to the place, along with the whole affair of ordering drinks was uneventful, so the pair spent most of their time tucked in a corner of the shop near the pick-up counter chatting about their next team practice and what their captain was planning to talk to them about.

"Order #87! Matcha Milk Tea and Black Milk Tea!" shouted one of the baristas. Cora's ears perked up, her mind swearing up and down that she's heard that voice before. Her face scrunched up in thought, searching for any recent memory that might help. As Luke got up to fetch their drinks, Cora chanced a look over her shoulder—and was meet with as much surprise as Luke had when he arrived at the counter—to find none other than their team captain, Cassidy, handing him their drinks, smiling knowingly at the two cephalos.

Of course, Cora would know that clear, commanding voice anywhere.

"Whoa! Didn't expect to see you working here." Cora could barely hear the conversation at the counter.

"But of course!" Cass leaned casually on the order counter and flipped her hair, flashing her trademark wink. "I'm working part-time just to see how the drinks are made, so it's a nice experience. And besides, having you guys meet up here to see your _new teammate_ will be killing two birds with one stone."

Cora widened her eyes from her seat, and Luke did the same while gaping at their capricious captain for a bit. 

So that's why she texted. Cora went back into her own thoughts, deciding to stare out the window their table's at to look at a jellyfish pointing their tentacles at....something, Cora wasn't sure. Luke and Cass's conversation continued on without her listening.

"Damn Cass, you out there makin' connections!"

"Ha! What kind of captain would I be if I wasn't? In fact," she leaned forward and flicked her head to the corner of the shop, "check it, he's here right now."

Luke followed her gaze to another corner of the shop, a little ways across from the corner Cora's sitting at right now, and did a quick appraisal of the newcomer, giving a low whistle. 

"Quite the looker, hope he's a good one."

"Trust me, have I ever steered you wrong?" she drawled out. If Luke hadn't known Cass as well as he did, she'd sound like she's capping.

Luke couldn't help but puff out a laugh and grin, "Hah, can't say you have." He lifted the boba drinks in farewell. "Thanks for the drinks!"

"Always! Stick around, okay? I've got plans for you guys after I'm done with work!" Cass waved as Luke ambled back to the table.

Cora had tuned back in to the tail end of the pair's conversation, and couldn't help but giggle a bit at the exchange between the two inklings. Both she and Luke were recruited by Cassidy at the same time to be on her freshly minted league team, with the latter open to anything that'll get him better at Clam Blitz, and the former needing cash and a desire to further hone her battle skills after so much solo turf, even if she had Luke. For the past year, Cass prioritized training despite the team only being a tri-squad, often calling in favors from her own friends to help fill in the empty fourth spot. During that time, the trio got close rather quickly, knowing each other's fighting styles on the field, and becoming comfortable with one another on and off it. As a result, Luke and Cora ended up finding a big sister in Cassidy.

"That was a pleasant surprise," Cora regarded with a quirk of her eyebrow. 

"Yeah, no kidding. Here you go." 

"Thank you Lukey," Cora said sweetly, before popping her drink and sipping away, leaning back with one arm behind the chair.

Cora took a small survey of the room, a residual habit from her Octarian Military days. With a still head and quick eyes, she counted about 13 cephalos: 8 squids, 5 octos, not including the bustling staff flitting about the venue and order counter. 

Up in one of the corners of the boba place, Cora spotted a yellow octoling male with white glasses and a matching creamy jacket. He seemed to be staring at nothing in particular, and was sipping on what was assumed to be hot tea. Having nothing else to look at, Cora decided to watch the octo boy on a whim. As she continued to stare for a bit, she saw his gaze move to her.

Cora returned the gaze with a quirk of her own eyebrow for the heck of it, wondering how he'd react to such a brazen move. He matched her move with a subdued, but knowing smile as he broke their eye contact and sipped some of his tea, smirk still dancing on his lips.

Cora didn't quite know what to make of the odd interaction she just had with a random stranger, which was even more odd given that she couldn't quite seem to recall ever seeing him in the military. Must've been in a different division.

"I see you're checking the new teammate out."

Cora took too sharp of an inhale that it caused some of her drink to spurt out of her straw and create a small mess for her troubles. As she quickly plucked a napkin from the counter area to clean up her mess, she gave an incredulous stare.

"You're kidding."

"Nope, yellow octo, right?" He turned to give the new guy a finger salute, which he returned with a smirk and tilt of his chin. "Seems interesting from what I gather, he's got quite the ensemble for himself, very fresh."

"As a melted popsicle, maybe. Home-boy _had_ to have been here since morning given he's not a limp noodle under that coat." Cora had no clue what was up with the guys today and wearing jackets in high heat weather. She really hopes this guy has a light shirt or something under there to match the rising outdoor temperature.

"Cass said we outta stick around till she's done with her shift. Says she's got plans." Luke beckons the octo boy over, oblivious to the squint from Cora as the new guy picks up his cup and weaves his way through the tables and patrons.

She turns her head to him, and upon closer inspection notices he's rather tall for an octoling male, albeit not by very much. He seems to have a relaxed air about him that puts Cora oddly at ease; octolings that she'd normally run into tend to have some semblance of alertness, even in the Inklings' casual society: a wide-eyed visage that betrays the vigilance they've retained from their military days that only octos would recognize.

"Sooo, you must be the new guy Cass wanted to introduce us to. I'm Luke, the pretty one." He winked as extended his hand out in greeting.

Tobias took it, and looked to him and Cora for a moment before asking, "If you're the pretty one, what does that make her?" He quirked an eyebrow, his expression the picture of smooth composure already, his voice just as composed.

"I'm the feral one with rabies." Cora and Luke exchanged a quick giggling fit, with Tobias taking her hand in turn for a shake, playing along and taking the teasing in stride.

"Suppose I gotta stay in your good graces then." Tobias gave a knowing grin and a wink that only Cora could catch. Odd boy, yet she couldn't help but revel in the excitement in meeting someone new; being able to take on an air of comfort and amicability is something she's resolved to embrace ever since her split with _him_. It shows she's moving on and opening her horizons to people that are friends with her because of her, just like thye promised each other to do all those months ago—even after the post-breakup disdain for him began settling in. As Tobias drew his hand a way and pulled up his chair to join the inkling-octo duo, Cora couldn't help but look up in his direction with a small, yet satisfied grin.

"Regardless Tobes—calling you that by the way," Tobes gave no inclination to Luke that he minded the instant nickname, "—welcome to the team!"

"Glad to be here. Your Captain seems to have an odd instinct to have scouted _me_ out of all people. I hardly play these days, even if I _am_ good at what I do." Tobias leans back, sipping his tea, once again perpetuating his instant ease despite just meeting his new teammates. 

"She's got a strange knack for finding what she calls 'diamonds in the rough,'" regarded Cora.

"That's El Capitan for ya, she found us when we were doin' Salmon Run together, of all things." Luke leaned back as well, looking up at the ceiling in reminiscence, before shifting his gaze back at Tobes. "Straight to the point too, saw that Cora and I worked pretty well together and figured we came in together rather than solo freelancing. She wasn't so bad herself when she was running eggs."

"Yeah!" Cora turned to Tobes excitedly, eyes suddenly alight with admiration of all the feats Cass has pulled off since they've played with her. "You should see the way she feeds those Maws with bombs; it's like she's pulling a quick draw, but with a _bomb_ and her sheer _reflexes_!" Cora mimed a 'mind blown' gesture for emphasis.

"You do that too dude."

"Yeah but—it's so cool seeing it in action ya'know!" Cora's look of awe persisted even in the face of Luke's teasing smirk. "It's one thing to do it—although I totally know I look badass—" Luke gave a good-natured scoff. "—but seeing it actually being done..." Cora trailed off with more 'mind blown' gestures, this time feigning deflation until she was practically slouching in her seat and even collapsing into her octopus form.

Both Luke and Cora began chuckling at her theatrics as she sprung back to her upright position, Tobias finding the spectacle all the more endearing.

"She seems to be quite the inkling," Tobias remarked at Luke.

"Oh yeah, she's amazing."

"Yuh." Cora leaned—or flopped, more like—over the table as she sipped away at her almost empty drink. "There's a lotta cool shit our Captain's done, but it's always better to learn them as you go the longer you stick with us," she finished with a wink, as if returning the not-so-secret wink Tobes gave her earlier.

"Sounds like a fresh deal to me." Tobes couldn't help but smirk at that, the prospect almost thrilling him to an extent.

Cora pulled the straw out of her mouth—the drink now empty—and regarded the strange, yet smooth octo with a pause; she wondered if being on the team wasn't the only thing that piqued his interest, but before she could further entertain the idea it slipped away in her mind as quickly as it entered, and she decided to let it go for the time being.

Time between the trio of cephalo-kids passed by with chuckles and banter, and soon they look over to see Cass getting out of her work station, her shift seemingly over.

"I see you guys are nice and acquainted with one another now," as if everything went according to plan for their fortuitous leader. "I talked with our good friend Tobias earlier, but our plan for today is to have a little weapons demonstration to get a feel for how he plays." Cass clapped her hands together in anticipation. "So, we're gonna be heading to the training area for the some test fires!" 

"Sick," Cora replied with a lift of her brow, curious to see Tobes in action after all that he mentioned regarding weapons he played: apparently he excelled at both short and long range weaponry, finding mid-range "a little too meh" for his taste.

"We outtie then?" Luke had all but stood up from his seat in record time, raring for some movement after all the sitting that's been happening for the past two or so hours. Cora supplied his question with a "Heck yeah," as she began tossing both her and Luke's empty drinks away, with Tobes rising from his seat in a preemptive, let slow fashion as he waited for everyone to get ready to leave.

Cass nodded her assent, grinning as the group soon began filing out of the boba shop, heading down the ramp to the testing areas for the much awaited demonstration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that the main cast has been introduced! Nice to see them coming to life 'officially.' XD I'm looking forward to developing them at a reasonable pace, and least into something I'll look back on and enjoy >v>
> 
> Here's hoping!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MmmHmHMHMHM yesssssss another chapter after...some number of months??? Finally found a good writing style that is now (very different from the first two chapters FORGIVE ME)  
> Regardless, enjoy!

To say Tobes was, as he said, "good at what he does" was not a lie by any means whatsoever, not that Cora doubted his earlier statement.

Nevertheless, even Luke couldn't help but gape at the frightening precision the yellow octo was exhibiting—but then again he's impressed by everything—his shots snapping from one test dummy to the next. It was a well established fact that the E-liter has the slowest charge of all chargers; the fast and impatient players would give up on it quickly in favor of Splat Charger or even Bamboozler. It was the players that either didn't give a crap about charge speed, or found the range too good to pass up that stuck with it. Cora wonders if that was the same story for Tobes.

What was even more astounding was his prowess in short ranged weaponry too; his inkbrush and octobrush skills were certainly nothing to scoff that—though the team could tell he favored the octobrush more as he takes full advantage of the brush's max range; he hardly ever went in any closer than that. He also pointed out mid practice that he's also adept at any of the gallons depending on the kit.

"I don't really use them as much though," he cut in as Cass was running Cora and Luke down on his weapons of preference, "But it's an option." Right, the 'meh' part of playing mid-lines.

He stood up upon splatting the last test dummy, rolling his right shoulder and craning his neck this way and that before turning to the crew, who graced his little demonstration with quaint applause.

Tobias couldn't help grin and chuckle at the reception. "Glad to see that I made good on my word."

"And _I'm_ just glad I managed to scout you for our team!" Cass returned his grin with a cheeky one of her own, along with her signature wink. ".WAV(E) has been needing a fourth, and you were the lucky cephalo I'd say. Not that it has anything to do with your skills as a _top notch_ player if I do say so myself, but—" and she made it point to turn to her other subordinates hovering by her right, "—I do believe I am usually pretty good that making cold calls like these when it comes to judge of character."

Cora and Luke were, no doubt, thinking back on Cass's morning text, and were both now smirking in knowing of the 'surprise' she was alluding to, and were enjoying the aforementioned 'surprise's' company already.

"And we wouldn't have it any other way, oh captain, my captain." Luke leaned his arm on Cora's shoulder to better look at their fearless leader; he threw in a mock-salute for extra cheek. Cora couldn't help but cackle at the sass Luke is putting up, and soon Luke joins in with her. Cass, unfazed as ever, shakes her head good-naturedly, with Tobias looking between the trio with a raised brow, finding the energy endearingly infectious with the way his own smirk seeps into his features. With a knowing look, Cass checks her watch and regards the octo boy with a wink.

"How about we talk some more over some good old fashioned team bonding?" She pushes off from where she's standing, motioning for everyone to starting following out the training grounds. "Training ground's getting close to closing, and I know a good mom and pop diner in the area that'll be perfect for the mood. Any objections?"

"None, captain!" The energy never once fading from the pair.

Tobes simply shakes his head, his smirk growing wider at the endearing nature Cora and Luke seem to practically radiate for their dear captain.

What a tight trio they must be...

.

.

.

They entered the aforementioned family-style restaurant, with the venue itself being dimly lit to give off a cozy, home-like feel to match. They find their table and shuffle in promptly, with Cora automatically reaching to distribute napkins for everyone. After they make their orders, they fill the time with small talk about the area and about themselves. Tobias has been working part-time as a weapons maintenance guy for about a year and half at Ammo Knights, but he also mentioned filling in for some odd job commissions at Grizzco for their rental weapons. He's 19 years old—about Cora and Luke's age—and has been living on his own in Inkopolis for 3 or so years. Before finding a job at Ammo Knights, he managed to scrape by with solo queue winnings like Cora did when she first came. Cass points out that she found him when she was chatting with Sheldon, and curiosity had snagged her by the throat when she caught a glance at Tobes test firing some of the merchandise. She would have mistaken him for a customer had Sheldon not told her he was working under him as one of his assistants. Given how chill the weapons nerd actually is outside of gabbing for hours on end about weight class and ink consumption, he saw no qualms in letting Cass recruit Tobias. She first introduced herself as 'Cassidy' at the time, but insisted on 'Cass' right away, letting the octo know right away that she was friendly enough to want to know more about her plan to assemble her team known as .WAV(E).

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it," Tobes takes a sip of his drink, "Do people ever say just 'wave' by mistake and forget the dot?"

Cass twirls her squid ink pasta through her fork, "You'd be surprised! It's actually not that often."

"Oh huh, that's a relief. Though I must admit I _did_ get thrown for a loop when you showed me how it was written versus when you said it to me at first."

"It was Cora's idea actually!" Cora looked up from her egg and hash-brown toast to give a quick peace-sign. "She liked the idea of using file names for things and using the '.wav' seemed cool at the time. We even put little file extensions at the end of our player titles." Cass gave a little snicker, finding herself proud—and at the same time touched—at the creativity of her darling teammates.

"Oh dude it's _so_ much fun!" Luke leaned in a fraction, "I put '.zip' at the end of mine, since I like moving around with my brella. Cass has '.wav' since she's the captain n' all."

"I've got .exe," Cora chimed in with a raised claw.

"So it was just you three the whole time?" The three nodded as Tobes plunked a sausage into his mouth, chewing through his next remark, "Were you guys able to get any action with just three people? Last I checked, the League didn't let tri-squads play."

"Mm!" Cora gulps down her drink just in time to clarify first. "Actually we'd get a plus 1 from our League friends!"

"A plus 1?"

"Yeah!" Luke piped up, "From the Golden Gharials!"

"Who are they?"

"They're a group of mates that I've been in contact with before I struck out on my own and found these two clowns." They made faces and stuck their tongues out at their captain, but smile all the same. Cass chomps down on her last bite of pasta as she continues, "Some of their senior members are on hiatus, so they brought in some new peeps to train in their place. Funnily enough, the younger ones hit it off with these guys—" she taps a knuckle to Cora's shoulder. "So they end up being our subs when we do free-play in League. Of course, we still haven't been able to get into the official tourneys that get held."

"Which is where I come in eh?"

"Precisely!" She chirps, flicking her fork upwards before putting it on her plate. "And we'll be starting practice as a full team right away!" She looks to the other two cephalos. "That's not a problem right? 1030 sharp as always, got it?"

The pair look to their captain and reply in unison, "Aye Capi-tan!" A giggle passes by the two cephalos, with Cass breathing out her own chuckle. Tobes is once again stricken by their positively infectious energy, that smirk once again finding its way back to his face.

"Capi-tan? Not captain?"

Luke turns to him, "Yeah! Y'know, like El Capitan?"

"Uhh, not really, but okay," the confusion makes his grin stutter a bit, but he finds the atmosphere endearing enough for him not to care. Not knowing what to make of Luke's odd choice in references, Tobes chances a glance at Cora, who finds her waving a vague 'don't-question-it-too-hard' gesture at him; he gives a nod as he notes to himself to look up this 'El Capitan' later. "Sooo, am I right in assuming we'll run into them during our training? They seem like a neat bunch. Y'know, helping you out and all."

"Oh, yeah! In fact, they'll be turning up to help us practice once..." Cass's posture notably sags a bit, "I arrange a PB scrim and book a map at the Shoal," she blows a tired breathe out through her cheeks.

"We thank you for your diligent work, captain," Cora merrily rings out as she wipes and folds her napkin over her plate, with her being the last person to finish her meal, drink and all.

"Yeah, yeah, no worries—it's usually easy as fuck once I actually do it. I'll get it done after you guys head home, don't worry."

"Yeah fa' sho!" Luke begins climbing out of the both, prompting Tobes to follow too after putting his glasses back on—after having to take them off during their meal. Soon, the rest of the team make their way out of the restaurant after paying, and the four of them say their goodbyes once Cass breaks off to head for the Shoal. Luke heads off to the super jump pad that's near where he lives with his roommates. Curiously enough, the yellow octo stayed with Cora, saying that he too takes the metro line back to his place.

"Or, we could find a place to chat for a bit longer. You...seemed rather interested in me back at the boba place."

Cora flushed a bit from where she was standing on the station landing, almost forgetting that she totally had a staring contest with a not-so-stranger minutes before finding out he was going to be a new teammate from here on. "It's...fine dude, it's been a long day already. Besides..." and she makes it a point to swivel her head around under the guise of looking for the train, rather than at the octo boy before her, "we just met, it'd be kinda funky to be getting to know each other so soon and all that."

"Hmm, I suppose that's true." Tobes leans back on the waiting seat and closes his eyes, letting his face soak in the faint summer air. "Even though you seem to like to talk a lot."

"I mean—yeah well," she huffs, the sound coming out a little more perturbed than she liked, "sometimes spilling too much too soon never really did anyone any favors." If Tobes was caught off guard by the subtle defensiveness she was putting up, he didn't seem to show it.

"You're good, man. You don't have to say anything else if you don't wanna."

"Thanks." Her guilt for her sudden snippiness at him already ebbing away.

And by the time they were done talking, the train had finally arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exsposition's harmless, wdym?? xD


End file.
